A Persona User's Journey
by cleo1106
Summary: Minako Arisato lost her parents in a car accident when she was seven years old. Ten years later she decides to go back to her old hometown where her parents died and attend Gekkoukan High School on Port Island. Minako thought she was just going to be a normal high scholar, she was wrong. She finds herself making friends, attending school, and fighting to save the city with them.


**This is my first fanfic and I promise not to disappoint! I played and finished Persona 3 Portable and I absolutely fell in love with it! The story will all be in Minako Arisato's POV and the story will follow along with the main plot from the game! I hope you all will give my story a chance and I hope you will enjoy it! If you all have any questions don't hesitate to ask!  
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**Disclaimer- I don't own the characters or the game in any way!  
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**A Persona User's Journey**

**Chapter 1- Arriving at Port Island**

**Date- April 6****th**** 2009**

The fire's heat burned my skin as I hurried out of the car through its window. Glass getting stuck in my palms during the process. I put pressure on the cut on my right side that I received from trying to escape the vehicle. My seven year old body could not take any more damage or else it could be fatal. I fell to my knees with tears pouring down my face. I was hurt, frightened, and I needed help fast.

"Mommy! Daddy!" I screamed for them and crawled to the driver's side while clutching my right side to ease the pain. When I reached the broken window, I expected to see daddy but instead I saw a wooden container with blood dripping out of it. The same shape container that shielded my grandmother when she passed away.

I gasped and staggered back as the blood poured out from the coffin like a waterfall and slowly make a puddle that came closer to my feet. I screamed and cried even harder as the pain from my bleeding side and the glass that was like splinters in my palms was making me want to go to sleep.

Suddenly I heard gunshots that sounded real close and never ending, like the sound from the arcade games my daddy likes to play. My mommy told me when I hear those sounds, especially in the dark, I should run away as fast as I can and hide.

I tried to pull myself up and got halfway up on one foot until I fell again bracing my hands from the fall. My hands landed on the scarlet puddle and I screamed again. The firing stopped and I tried yet again to pull myself up with the help of the car that was still lightly on fire. As I finally stood up my hand instantly went to my side again and I closed my eyes wishing for the pain to just go away.

I opened my eyes and saw the moon which was the only source of light I had for the moment but something was different about it. The moon seemed twice as big and it was glowing even more than usual. My mommy said the moon likes to change its size every day, when I asked her why she told me because we move and we see different sides of the moon. I didn't understand what that meant, she just laughed at my confusion while patting me on the head and said "You will understand when you're older and much more educated" so I just came up with a theory that the moon just likes to change its size because it just wants to.

"A human? A human girl?" A voiced asked softly. I turned around which made my side protest and stared at the owner of the voice. My body was aching and with the darkness I couldn't get a clear view of who was standing in the middle of the bridge. I tried to squint my eyes to see until I heard a growl that sounded like a monster from the scary movies my mommy and daddy didn't like me watching. I turned my head and saw a black figure coming towards the other figure. The first figure moved her arm up and suddenly bullets were being shot at the monster looking figure. My eyes widened as I stood there and witnessed what was happening before my eyes. My thoughts were telling me to run and hide but with the pain my body was experiencing I knew I wouldn't make it far.

The figure that was firing bullets stopped and turned its head at me once again. The figure turned back to the monster that seemed unharmed even with the million bullets that it took in and still tried to approach the figure. The figure stared at the monster and lifted its arm again as if to fire some more bullets when the arm sparked and the figure withdrew its arm and held on to it.

The figure seemed injured and looked like it needed some help! The figure looked at me again with big focused blue eyes.

My head shot up from the dream and I had to blink a couple of times to take in my surroundings.

"Due to a malfunction in the switching system, today's rail schedule has been greatly altered. We apologize to any customers who were in a hurry." The voice from the intercom said.

I breathed a couple of times to gain my composer as I remembered I was on a public train. I put a hand to my forehead remembering that I always got a headache after having that dream.

"The next stop is Iwatodai…" The intercom continued announcing our next arrival.

I put my headphones back in my ears and listened to the radio through my MP3 player. Port Island. The city that I was born in and that I would be returning to after ten years. The horrible memory of my loving parents whose lives were taken away from them a decade ago still burned into my mind as if it happened just recently. We were coming back home from visiting my family in the suburbs when we got into a car accident on the the main bridge that was later named _The Moonlight Bridge_ which was the bridge that led into and out of the city. I remember the car flipping over onto the hood and getting out of the car but the rest is a blur. I remember the police telling me my parents were gone and I cried staining the hospital beds pillow. It ruined me that I couldn't see my parents anymore and that I was an orphan. After being in the hospital for almost a week, I was released into custody of my mother's younger sister and who was my godmother that lived in the suburbs with the rest of my family. I left my home taking the memory of my parents with me and moved to the suburbs. My aunt's husband was a business man with his own company so we had to move around a lot but to tell the truth, I didn't mind it as much. They both loved me as if I was their own child and when they introduced me to other people they would call me their daughter, I never minded one bit. They had their first child when I was ten named Hideo and I loved him like he was my own brother. Since my aunt's family was very wealthy I had a very nice and fulfilling childhood growing up. We always went on vacation and had nice food; I was also very well educated.

My aunt and uncle had to move away again and they asked me if I wanted to go to a boarding school somewhere. It was my decision to come back to Port Island and attend Gekkoukan High School. They agreed and arranged for me to attend there for my junior year and also arrange for me to be in a dorm. I didn't want them to pay for my education anymore and was willing to pay for it but they wouldn't let me finish saying it was their responsibility. They were so caring and when I turn twenty-one, I will inherit my parents money and house, I knew that once I was out into the real world I would repay back the kindness that my aunt and uncle have shown me.

My thoughts were interrupted by a man who was sitting across from me that was tapping his foot and sighing rather loudly. I glared at him; _you're not the only one needing to be somewhere!_

I turned back to my MP3 player, put on my favorite song _Burn my Dread, _and closed my eyes hoping the ride wouldn't take as long. I didn't fall asleep as I kept my music up at a decent volume for my ears and had the song on repeat. My aunt always kept telling me that I'm going to lose my hearing someday.

The train came to a stop and the announcement clarified that we have arrived at Iwatodai station. I got up and saw the man that was sitting across from shot up from his seat and made sure he was the first one off the train. I shook my head at him, _people nowadays_

I looked at my MP3 clock and saw it was one minute till midnight_._ I didn't know it was that late! I walked off the train and suddenly everything became dark. I looked around confused but just shrugged it off, _they are probably just closing._ I took a few more steps and realized that my MP3 was not blaring my music.

"Don't tell me that the batteries…" I muttered to myself a little annoyed that I won't be able to listen to my music on my journey to the dorm. I tried to turn it back on and gave up when it wouldn't.

I took some unnecessary deep breaths and continued my walking out of the station pulling on my duffle bag further up my shoulder. The atmosphere seemed a lot heavier as I continued on my journey and it wasn't helping my headache. As I went outside, the first thing that caught my eye was the eerie moon. It looked like the moon from my dream that I get from time to time. It was not completely full yet but it still shined as if it was full. I looked around and saw a bunch of coffins just standing on their own. There was just something really creepy about them.

_Was their some kind of festival here or something?_ I thought to myself and continued walking dodging some puddles of what looked like blood.

The dorm was not that far for me to walk to, it took about fort-five to fifty minutes to get there. I stood in front of it and was amazed by its size. It was a lot bigger than the admission pamphlet's photo. I walked up the small steps and opened the front door surprised that it wasn't locked.

_They must have been inspecting me to come any time. _I looked around the room to find a lounge, a sitting area, and a kitchen without one soul present. Maybe I should have knocked first and announce my arrival instead of just walking in. I didn't want to shout out into the darkness and disturb people who were trying to sleep.

"Welcome!" I heard a soft voice say. I turned to my left and saw a boy that was sitting on the counter next to the door just kicking his feet into the air, he looked to be about nine or ten years old and he wore a pajama set that looked like he was a prisoner. He hopped down and continues to stare and smile at me "You're late." He scolded "I've been waiting a long time."

"Huh?" I said and gave the boy a confused look, and that only made him chuckle. I noticed that he was holding a piece of paper with both hands.

"If you want to proceed, then please sign here." The boy referred the paper in his hands "It's a contract." I grab the paper and headed over to place it on the counter to sign my name. I didn't know whether this was dorm regulations or just a silly game the boy wanted to play.

I read the paper and it only had one sentence above the line where I was supposed to sign my name. "I chooseth this fate of mine own free will." I smiled and almost laughed out loud at the boy's silly game.

I turned back to the boy who stared at me intently and gave him a curious look. "There's no need to be scared." He told me softly "It only binds you to accepting full responsibility for your actions." I looked at him some more and grabbed the pen next to the sign in sheet, this wasn't a kind of game that Hideo would play with me and it got me kind of curious as to what the child would do after I signed my name. I looked back at this 'contract' and went along with his game.

_Minako Arisato_

I handed the piece of paper back to the boy and he gave me a bright smile "…Very well." He said satisfied as he took it, I was about to ask him what the contract was for but he continued "Time is something no one can escape. It delivers us all to the same end. Wishing won't make it go away."

He held out his hand as if he was about to touch me and then he started to fade away into the darkness. I was about to walk up to him until he completely disappeared whispering "And so it begins."

I stood there stunned and completely confused on the whole situation. Who was that boy? I was tempted to call out into the darkness of the room and tell him to stop hiding.

"Who's there?" A person yelled out. I looked up to see a girl that looked about my age with light brown hair and wearing a pink coat. I was about to introduce myself until she became very cautious of my presence "But it's…! Don't tell me!" She said and reached over to her right hip. I followed her actions with my gaze and realized she had a gun attached to her right hip. I stiffened and looked back at her with fear struck eyes. She wouldn't shoot me, would she?

Her breathing was heavy and quick as she pulled it out, I immediately took a step back and reached behind me for the door handle out of instinct.

"Wait!" Another voice called out and I looked up at a red haired girl in a school uniform.

"Wha..?" The brown haired girl whispered to herself and suddenly out of nowhere, the lights came back on. They would have blinded my sight for a second if I wasn't so scared at the armed girl in front of me.

What did surprise me was the sudden music that blared into my ears. I jumped and my unused hand went immediately to my ears to take off my headphones. I tore them out of my ears and continued to stare at the two girls in front of me waiting for their actions. The brown haired girl looked up at the lights closest to her in shock and looked back at me, it seemed like she was trying to calm herself.

She looked back at me and straightened herself, standing normal. She put her hands behind her back and away from the gun. I took deep breaths myself trying to stay calm and tried to recall what just happened. I straightened myself up as well releasing the doorknob that my hand had used all of its strength to crush it. My mind was just trying to process on what just happened that I didn't even notice the redhead walking towards me until I heard the clicking of her shoes on the tile. The redhead reached down near my feet and picked up my duffle bag that I didn't even know I had dropped during the unexplained actions that the brown haired girl was showing.

She gave me a smile "I didn't think you would arrive so late." She stated with a chuckle handing me my duffle bag "I'm Mitsuru Kirijo. I'm one of the students who live in this dorm." So I was at the right place even though as of this moment I didn't want to be.

I pulled the duffle bag over my shoulder again "M-My train was um late." I stuttered out the truth. Mitsuru nodded understanding my reaction. This girl was very serious and understanding. She also seemed like the leader of the dorm from the way she approached and introduced herself to me. I figure she was a very important person and I wanted to show my respect for her because she made sure the brown haired girl didn't shoot me.

"..Who's she?" I noticed the brown haired girl walking towards us and giving Mitsuru a curious look. I stiffened when she got closer but instantly calmed myself, I did come at an unreasonable time and she probably did think I was a burglar. It wasn't her fault that I scared her by my arrival.

Mitsuru looked at me then back at the brown haired girl "This is Minako Arisato, the new transferred student. It was a last minute decision to assign her here." I winced, I didn't want to be a nescience "She'll eventually be moved to a room in the normal dorm." A normal dorm? If this isn't a normal dorm then what kind of dorm is it?

The brown haired girl leaned closer to Mitsuru "Is it ok for her to be here?" She whispered to her. I narrowed my eyes at her, does she not know that I'm standing right here. I didn't want to go somewhere else now, I wanted to just fall into a bed or even a couch and sleep the rest of the night away, I was too exhausted to deal with this now.

Mitsuru chuckled "I guess we'll see…" She looked back at me and pointed to the brown haired girl standing next to her "This is Yukari Takeba. She'll be a junior this spring, just like you." I smiled shyly at Yukari.

Yukari seemed a little uncomfortable being introduced by Mitsuru while she moved her weight on one foot to the next "…Hi, I'm Yukari." She introduced herself.

A lot of questions popped into my head and was curious on the answers they would give me but my mouth betrayed me when the one question I was really concerned about got blurted out "Why do you have a gun?" I would have face palmed myself for being rude because I actually wanted to make friends here and I wasn't off to a great start. I still wanted to know why a junior has possession of a gun in the first place. I was hoping deep down that it was either fake or just for show.

"Huh?" Yukari seemed surprised that I asked that question and her hand went to her gun as if to hide it from show "Um, well, it's sorta like a hobby…" She explained, what kind of teenage hobby involves gun. I gave her a quizzical look and she continued "Well, not a hobby, but…" She looked up at Mitsuru for help.

Mitsuru cleared her throat and tried to ease the awkwardness "You know how it is these days… It's for self-defense." She explained and smiled a little "It's not a real gun, of course."

I nodded my head understanding what it's like to live in the city, it is sometimes dangerous. I smiled at Yukari, I didn't want her to think I was still scared of her because of the misunderstanding. She smiled back at me and I took my hand out to shake hers "Minako Arisato."

She took my hand and nodded. Mitsuru looked at both of us for a second until she spoke "It's getting late. You'll find your room on the 3rd floor." She wiped her hair over her shoulder "Your things should already be there. I suggest you tuck in for the night." She suggested. I smiled and nodded thankful that I get to have some rest.

Mitsuru looked at Yukari and Yukari got the hint "Oh… I'll show you the way. Follow me." Yukari started walking toward the stairs after her sentence

"Thank you." I whispered to Mitsuru and she nodded going behind the counter and opening up her laptop case.

I caught up with Yukari and followed her up the stairs to the third floor. I didn't expect the dorm to be small but I didn't expect it to be this huge! There were sitting areas on both the second and third floors for socializing. Yukari kept walking further and further down the hall until we stopped on the last door on the right of the hall.

"This is it." Yukari said while pointing at the door "Pretty easy to remember huh? Since it's right at the end of the hall" I chuckled and nodded, I wouldn't have to worry about getting lost. "So," She continued "any questions?"

So many! Couple, about the coffin festival, about school, and about the little boy. The little boy! I wondered if he was someone's little brother here. "Yeah, does that little boy live here?" I asked her.

Yukari forward her eyebrows at me "Little boy? What are you talking about?" She asked innocently "Come on, this isn't funny!" She said sounding serious. Maybe she really didn't know what I was talking about. I was about to describe him but instead I shook my head.

"Nothing, never mind what I said." I smiled at her and whispered a 'good night' to her while putting my hand on the door handle.

"Um… Can I ask you something?" She asked me, I turned my head at her and nodded giving her a confused look. I noticed I have been giving that look a lot since the moment I sent a foot into this dorm. "On your way here from the station was everything ok?" She asked sounding a little disturbed by asking that sentence.

Were the streets really that unsafe? Did I need to start carrying a gun around too? "Yeah?" I answered her question by making it sound like a question curious if she would explain herself.

She sighed and smiled, all concern erasing from her eyes "It seems like you're alright." I smiled at myself thinking of the protection I would use on a burglar or any one threatening me with my life. I learned gymnastics when I was a kid and stopped when I was in my junior year of middle school. I was a killer in doing flips and jumps. "Well, I'd better get going…" She walked about five feet until she turned back around "Um… I'm sure you still have other questions, but let's save them for later, okay?" I nodded understanding because of it being late. "Good night." She finally left and went down to the door two doors away from me.

I opened my door and immediately plopped my duffle bag on the ground by my feet. I rubbed my eyes trying to get the sleep out of them and looked around the room. It was a medium sized bedroom with a little kitchen set, I brought over my small bed, desk, and television from my home. I looked at the pile of boxes that sat near my television that was placed at the corner of my room. I knew unpacking would take a few hours and I knew that this wasn't my permanent room so I decided to leave the boxes where they are.

I slowly walked over to my bed and layed down on it. I thought about my night so far and started to think about my new life at this school. I closed my eyes waiting for sleep to take me.

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**So how did you guys liked it so far? I was going to add her first day of school in this chapter as well but I thought it was long enough!**

**For every chapter at the end I will give you the name for the next chapter so her it is!  
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**Chapter 2- Awakening  
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**If you guys have any question you can all still ask!  
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